The Empty Bowl Book Review

The Empty Bowl

Photo credit: T

Written by Ai Wener and Xing Huo

Illustrated by Xing Huo

Translated from the Chinese by Helen Wang

Expected publication: October, 2020 from Cardinal Media

Mom's Review

Adorable. Encouraging. Sweet.

The Empty Bowl is the story of a stray puppy who is fed by a girl and her grandmother until they abruptly stop. The cause? The coronavirus pandemic. With his city on lockdown, the puppy suffers. At his darkest moment, the girl and her grandmother swoop in, take him to the vet and then home to stay. 

With all the loss, The Empty Bowl is a warm reminder of the good still present. I get a warm, fuzzy feeling seeing the puppy rescued and the girl gain a new companion, especially while her doctor-parents are separated from her.

Son's Review

(Age: 5) 

I think it's a cute book. He doesn't look as cute [after the bath] as when he looks frazzled. There [at the end] he's pretty cute, where he's sticking his tongue out.

Looking at the girl's journal:

Hey, we have a journal! We have a gratitude journal!

T posed a question himself:

#1: What would you want to do with the dog? I would want to feed the dog and play with him a bit. Maybe make him a home outside in our yard. 

Note: A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.